The Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling is a phenomenon that has spawned films, video games, and themed lands at Universal Studios theme parks. Another on the list is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a play that is set after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Harry Potter now has a son, Albus Potter, and he is struggling with parenthood and living up to the accomplishments of defeating Lord Voldemort, aka He Who Shall Not Be Named. Meanwhile, Albus befriends Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry’s former rival, Draco Malfoy. Now the two discover the power to change the past and future, and they are on an adventure to save the wizarding world.

The play is available all over the world including London, New York City and Germany. For those in the United States, it’s currently on a national tour with upcoming cities including Washington DC, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, and more. Right now, fans can watch Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles.

Starring as Harry Potter in the national tour is John Skelley, with Emmet Smith as Albus Potter and Aidan Close as Sorpius Malfoy.

“Yeah, it’s a really weighty thing,” Smith tells Nerd Reactor. “It’s more than getting a part in a new play. It’s more than getting even a part in a known musical that has already existed. Because of the fanbase of Harry Potter, there is so much expectation and weight, I think, especially for the original golden trio: Harry, Ron and Hermione.”

“Will you have this expectation put upon you?” Skelley asks. “And so in some ways, that part is freeing because you go, ‘Oh, I’m experiencing this, and Harry is experiencing this, and I can just live that truth of, yeah, there’s a lot of pressure. I think this is THE Harry Potter. This is how I am.’ And then those private moments, you get to explore those kind of deeper feelings. Those are, I think, hopefully universal feelings because I think all of us read the books and it’s impossible to not start to become one with those characters.”

Peeves is a ghost at the Hogwarts School who loves to cause mischief. When something weird happens during the show, the cast would call it the Peeves Show.

“So we do have shows where we call them Peeves shows,” Close tells Nerd Reactor. “So if you read the book, there’s a ghost called Peeves that is just looking to make mischief. This show is a living breathing thing and that’s what makes it beautiful is that you see like, ‘Ah!’ Something just happened. That reminds you that it’s real. But sometimes we have shows where there’s some sort of supernatural – poltergeist is trying to mess with our show, and honestly, sometimes that’s when it comes the most alive.

“Because I think it’s a common experiences as an actor like, ‘I flubbed a line,’ or ‘I feel like I miss something.’ Maybe it comes from ego, maybe it comes from some other source, but there’s this fire that’s lit in you and you’re like, ‘No, I will bring the resounding thunderbolt of truth onto this stage right now because I have to.’ Because of shame maybe. It shocks you awake.”

Tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child are now available at the Pantages Theatre Hollywood. For more info, visit https://tour.harrypottertheplay.com/